No, I did not say I hate PvP, I said I hate PKers. And despite what others might say, in my opinion, there's a difference.

When PvP is handled properly, and is balanced enough to give all classes something to offer on the battlefield, it's an absolute blast. There will never be an AI programmed that can match the challenge, ingenuity, or sheer insanity of a real human player. And winning a challenge against an army of human controlled opponents is a testament to anyone's playing ability. Guild Wars pulls this off with a huge degree of success. So I am a big fan of structured PvP. It promotes teamwork, community, and heightens the sense of being in a living, breathing virtual world.

PKing, or player killing for the uninitiated, is in my experience, griefing. Most people who like games where there's open world PK are not interested in a level playing field. They simply want to feel a false sense of power by attacking someone much more underpowered than they are. If someone shows up who can give them a decent challenge, they turn tail and run.

PKers in games are always bitching in the forums and world chat that there needs to be a system where people drop gear and gold when they die. Why? Essentially you'd have a pack of overpowered meatheads robbing everyone they saw for a quick buck, rather than taking the time to level/farm/buy the stuff themselves. Who in their right mind would think that dropping that Darkblade of something-something +X when getting PKed would be cool? They don't. The virtual thugs reaping the rewards do.

I guess if open world PKing were a little more defined (race vs. race, faction vs. faction), then it would be more tolerable. However, having a PK system just for the sake of PKing is stupid and pointless.

PKers...if you really are that bloodthirsty and action oriented, then MMOs aren't your genre. Go play FPSs or something and leave the legimate PvPers and RPGers alone.

I wouldtn mind PK'rs as much. But no system makes one truely responsible for there actions. Random killing with no consequences is unrealistic. And no matter how hard games may try to impliment a system that does, none do. There is ALWAYS a way around a system the game impliments to take little to no risk when killing others for no reason.

The so called "carebear" games created today are not a product of so called "carebears". They are a product of griefer/exploiting pkers.

There's nothing wrong with PKing, the problem lies in the poor pvp systems implemented in most MMORPG's. I enjoy world pvp and pk. There should be PVE and PVP servers as you will never please anyone. If you don't like PKing, play PVE games or on PVE servers. Just as PKers should not go to non-pvp games and QQ about no pvp. There just needs to be risk and rewards for world pvp that penalize you for ganking non-factors and rewards for ganking those with abilities equal to or higher than yours.

about the looting thing if they did it like in shadowbane where u drop wats in your bags ... not whats your wearing it works in my opinion but alot of the world drops centered around people trying to get special item (runes) that you could put on ur charactor to give it special skills they sold for tons and were very useful so u had pvp fights in the areas where those droped one person could start with it but it could go through a ton of people before the person with it got to a bank / safe city that was in my opinion tons of fun becuase a lone player could steal it from a group of people...

I am sorry you hate me and my cohorts. Personally, I mainly take part in said activities when I happen upon an opportunity. If the rules eliminated the ability to kill some random schmuck, I wouldn't really care, but as long as I have the ability to PK some random jerk, I will continue to do so... I liked your article until you started QQing about e-gangs robbing foo's, or whatever. Just because other people don't have the exact same play style as you doesn't meant hey need to "GTFO go play an FPS, blah blah blah". That sentiment made your credibility go that way. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

You have to consider my favorite practical application of justified ganking: if I am farming a resource / mob in a certain area and someone is doing the same, making it take longer for me to get what I need, I gank the person until they leave. Problem solved.

I really like being able to do this and gladly suffer being ganked myself for the opportunity to return the favor.

About the "big picture" issue, I think the two posters above me stated it perfectly.

I might be interested in PvP risks or PK situations some of the time but always doing it would be a pain in the ass... Totally unrestricted PKing is pointless but a system was made of it, it could be workable. Just like anyone who wanted to gank would have to wear a PK flag so they could PK anyone wearing that flag and anyone wearing that flag could PK them.

Another system that could be done is kill anyone but the lower the level or skills the person is a player ganks the harsher the penalty is to the ganker. Same goes with if there's multi people ganking one person around the same level. PK hunters would have to go by the same rules. This kind of system would encourage a fair fight.

I've never PK'ed anyone that wasn't an opposite faction or anything in any game and don't take kindly to them but I wouldn't mind hunting PKers.

pvp isnt about a fair fight its about using every advantage you have to come out on top...if it had a loot system like shadowbane you died but didnt really LOSE anything that was important unless u were a dumbass and carryed your bank around with you...

putting penalties on pk'ers is bs so wat if there killing somone lower level then them get over quit bitching and moaning and go lvl up and fight back..

in my opinion theres almost nothing better then killing the guy that ganked you when you were lower lvl its great....

I totally agree with PKing someone who's either KSing or is just being a pain in the ass, because it's a justified reason. Doing it for shits and giggles is just griefing, plain and simple. Argue your point as to why you're doing it however you want, but it is what it is. PKing someone "just because" is griefing. So yeah, go play Halo.

wtf is it with you and halo?? just becuase somone likes to kill other players means they shouldnt be playing a mmo??? ... wtf seriously.. just becuase u dont like it means we should go play somthin else.. screw you...

and i kno alot of people kill players that hate halo so shove that up ass i mean seriously dont tell me to go play anthor damn game becuase ohh i ganked u now ur gonna cry about it.... seriously if u dont like getting killed by people play somthin wher they cant kill you

theres that new mmo by dinsey maybe that would be more to your damn liking

orodeon, lol. Ur so hardcoer plz. There's a reason why no penalty FFA games always fail. Because in he world of MMORPGs, the shutins on unemployment living in mom's basement, playing 24/7 get the edge.

I hope there is a one day a hardcore pvp game that doesn't fail, but in the land of "Im uber nerd and u suck", the reality is low subscriptions and plugs being pulled. (or games being drawn out on life support longer than they ever should have been (vanguard/shadowbane).